Is our sub fee not enought

[Seig345]

So this argument has recently made me start comparing this game to a theme park... You pay to get in, and there's stuff you can do as many times as you want without having to pay extra (most rides, perhaps limited time events with free prizes and such), while there's other things such as carnival-like games, food, and merchandise (apparel, accessories, keepsakes/souvenirs, etc) that not only cost you extra per each play/item, but some might argue they cost you more than similar items sold in regular stores would cost you (aka; too much). Since you're stuck in this rather large park, unless you brought food with you and you're willing to carry it around or walk all the way back to your car to eat it, some might even argue that the bumped prices are entirely due to having you at the mercy of convenience, also referred to as price gouging. All of this despite the fact that you paid for your ticket/season pass to get in, since it does not in fact cover everything you see/encounter in the park. Definitely some similarities in there, such as rides/duties (both involve waiting in a line/queue), the cash shop items being the souvenirs and overpriced food, etc.

Now, this game is developed using something referred to in the gaming community as a "theme park formula". It's not entirely 1:1, but am I taking this theme park comparison thing too far? Outside of MMORPGs, the business model itself is definitely oldhat, and the overpriced food and souvenirs are typically just an expected/accepted trope of the theme park scene. Typically it's only little jimmy or susan who's throwing a fit when their parents won't buy them that 6-foot stuffed panda bear.

I'm not necessarily using this to excuse or argue against the cash shop stuff, just a sort of comparison I've been thinking about today.